Apple has just a sliver of the smartphone market in China, according to the latest numbers from IDC, via WSJ.
Here, in order of size are the five biggest smartphone sellers in mainland China, per IDC:
- Samsung, 19%
- Lenovo, 13%
- Coolpad, 11%
- Huawei, 10%
- Apple, 7%
- Xiaomi, 6%
Apple gained a percentage of share last quarter thanks to iPhone 5S sales, but as you can see, it's still a distant fifth.
The good news for Apple: Even with a small slice of the market, sales in China were up 20% last quarter.
Even better news: The iPhone is now on China Mobile, the biggest carrier in China. That should help boost sales.
The truth of the matter is that the iPhone is expensive in China, and odds are that Apple will never lead in market share.
The Chinese market is big enough, however, that Apple can continue to grow sales at the high end, even with a tiny share of the market. Just don't expect mega growth.